


Lessons in Manipulation

by AshenStardust



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Multiple Orgasms, Smut, league of shadows, metahuman!reader, slight brat behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 18:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30143808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshenStardust/pseuds/AshenStardust
Summary: The Reader has been forced to work of the League of Shadows against her will. After a daring escape she finds herself face to face with something she doesn’t expect.
Relationships: Bane/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Lessons in Manipulation

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy ^^ .

You didn’t like being useful to the League. You knew eventually it would lead to your death. They didn’t much care what you thought, and you could not escape them. They had you holed up in a safehouse, watched all hours of the day, but you were free to come and go as you pleased. You were free to keep your job. You were free to disappear so long as you reappeared later.

Disappearing was a feat you’d only accomplished once. An unwitting Bat became involved and you were able to shirk the eyes they kept on you. Once so far. You were about to attempt it again. You managed to get intel from the league. Claimed the information would help your progress and when they gave it you helped them along a little quicker than they were used to from you.

Gotham was a maze of buildings and people. You could feel the eyes on you as you travelled, like you always did, to pick up essentials. Suddenly cars went racing by. People screamed and a darkness came over the previously well-lit street. You ducked underground, away, and the eyes finally ceased burning holes in your skin.

You hid for perhaps too long. You had to make sure. There was no misconception that the League would lose you forever. You wanted them to panic. You wanted their skin to itch. This task they required of you would cost more than your labor. 

Night turned into day turned into night. You’d brought along supplies, as innocuous as you could. A bag with a wig and a change of clothes and food. You changed, discarding your clothes to the hideout, and fixed the wig until you felt like you looked unrecognizable. There was always a bit of you. The build of your body and the features of your face were giveaways, but you were doing your best under constant surveillance.

You left the hideout and blended into the crowd. You didn’t have anywhere to go, but you could find a place. The slums extended before you and you made your way out of them. You couldn’t go home. The thought caused your step to falter. You recovered quickly and kept on your way.

There was no one you could ask for help. Anyone you could go to was being watched by the League and you weren’t going to put them in danger. Not that it mattered, apparently. Even in the nicer parts of the city you were exposed. A gunshot echoed along the walls of the skyscrapers. People screamed and scattered, you among them. It wasn’t until you stopped under the cover of an alley that you realized the bullet had been for you. 

You pressed your hand to the wound in your leg and cursed. The alleyway holed in as members of the League of Shadows came toward you. A man you didn’t recognize led them. A masked man with a physique so beyond imposing you wondered how he could exist.

“Did you enjoy your two days of freedom?” His voice was lilted through the mask. He stalked toward you while the rest made sure there was no escape. 

“Bite me.” It wasn’t like they would kill you. You’d proven that when they’d kidnapped you. They could hurt you, sure, and they had, but they wouldn’t kill you. The man entered your space and you glared defiantly at his chest.

He made a noise. It could have been a laugh, but it was too difficult to tell with the mask. He knelt down, grabbed you, and the next thing you knew you were draped over his shoulder. You screamed. For a moment you’d forgotten about the bullet hole in your leg. His large hand wrapped around the wound on your thigh and squeezed. The pain forced you to black out.

You woke back in the apartment they’d designated you to. You sat up quickly and looked around. It was cleaner than you left it. Your second thought was the pain radiating from your thigh. You grit your teeth a bit and shifted. A small noise escaped you as your leg was forced to move, but you were not going to lie in bed.

A harsh breath left you as you put the slightest pressure on your leg. Fuck. They really hadn’t given you anything for the pain. You whimpered as you stood, and tears sprung to your eyes. You pushed on, and up. Your arms lifting you from the bed and catching you on the wall. There was no way could you put pressure on your wounded leg without passing out again. 

You used the wall and your good leg to hobble to the door. You opened it and leaned on it as it showed you into the living space. “What the fuck?” It was less of a question and more of an exclamation. The man with the mask was in your kitchen. He looked toward you, and his eyes narrowed.

“Get back in bed,” he commanded.

“Eat me.” You took a steadying breath and began your walk to the couch. Each step was fire and daggers. The man was on you before you took two steps. 

“Get the fuck off me! Who do you think you are?” You struggled in vain against his strength. You were half-certain you were only hurting yourself, but you weren’t going down without a fight.

“Bane, and you, little girl, are a pain.”

“I’m in pain,” you snapped as he reached down to lift you. He carried you bridal style to the couch and set you down. He took your injured leg in hand and carefully moved it to rest on the coffee table. You grumbled and watched him walk back to the kitchen. The oven timer went off and you craned your neck curiously to see what Bane was pulling out.

It looked hauntingly like pizza. The shape became sharper as you watched him cut and plate it. He brought you a slice and sat on the far end of the couch from you with his own plate. “Doesn’t seem very healthy,” you commented, suspicious. 

“You got shot. You’re allowed pizza.” He looked at you, then back to the television. He’d turned it on at some point and there was a shitty daytime drama playing. You watched him instead and grew more fascinated by the second. His mask was a strange permanent-looking apparatus, but, with fingers far nimbler than you’d give credit for, he unhooked the thing and set it aside. He looked normal. Human. You were almost disappointed.

A sigh escaped you as you forced your eyes away from him. You looked down at your plate. “How do you even know what my favorite pizza is?” You took a bite and sank a bit further into the couch. 

“It’s the pizza you pick up every time you think you’ve inconvenienced us.” His lilt extended beyond his mask as a soft accent. You looked over at him and saw he was watching you. His expression was gentle, relaxed, and you had to look away before you began to overanalyze him. You realized too late that you should be embarrassed by what he said. All you felt was defiant.

You finished your slice and shifted like you were going to try to stand. Bane was quick to press a hand against your shoulder and force you back down on the couch. “More please, and water,” you requested too cheerfully. Bane gave you a look but did as you requested. Your dinner was finished in somewhat companionable silence. You watched the television for a little while, but eventually you couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore. 

Bane grabbed you carefully and carried you to bed. He tucked you in and set a glass of water on your bedside table. “Sleep well, little one. I will see you tomorrow.” You were just on the right side of awake to notice that he was looking forward to it. You slept fitfully.

Bane was there when you woke. He didn’t allow you to stand. He took care of you. He was in your apartment constantly for a week. League members would bring supplies and he helped you with everything. He cooked for you, cleaned. The week passed and you broke down enough to ask him for help washing. He’d kept your wound clean, but your hair was becoming more disgusting by the day.

He took you into the bathroom and settled you on the outside of the shower. You remained clothed as he started the shower. The spray misted you both and Bane held you gently as he wetted your hair. Your eyes slipped closed as he massaged his fingers against your scalp. He washed the suds of shampoo out and you were wet anyway but appreciated that he didn’t force you to be naked.

You set your jaw as he wrapped your hair in a towel. “Thank you.” The words barely escaped you. You didn’t want to say them. You didn’t feel obligated to say them either. The words were owed. A debt you needed to be free of. Bane didn’t respond, didn’t react, and set you down on your bed as he rifled through for a clean dry shirt. He’d have to do your laundry soon or send someone else out to do it. You didn’t have the facilities in your apartment.

He tossed you a shirt and kept his back to you as you changed into it. Having your hair clean was refreshing but you could still feel grime on your skin. You weren’t going to complain. You weren’t going to complain. Instead you stayed quiet as he lifted you again and led you into the living area. He was letting you walk a bit more now. Always with his assistance.

Another week passed. Bane brought someone in to do your laundry. He still took care of you, even as your leg healed. You were to the point where it barely hurt to walk. That didn’t stop Bane from scolding you whenever you tried to walk on your own. Apparently, it still needed to rest if you wanted it to heal properly. His warnings didn’t stop you.

He brought you to bed every night. As soon as your eyelids were too heavy to stay open, or when you asked. He tucked you in and went back to the living room to sleep on your couch. You were two weeks into recovery now and he still insisted on carrying you to bed. Your hand reached out to grab his. “Don’t-“ you cut yourself off before you could say any more. Bane looked at you curiously and you looked away. A scowl settled on your face. “Don’t break my couch,” you sneered.

Bane raised a brow. “You’d rather I break your bed?” he asked, and you turned bodily away from him. He was taking care of you, sure, but you were still a captive. You still tried to escape them. Your recovery was useful, nothing more.

He sat on the bed and you were rolled onto your back by the dip he created. He pushed his fingers carefully through your hair. “You are allowed to be fond of me. I know I am fond of you.” You held your hand over his. You craved his touch, his comfort. 

“We are enemies Bane. I would maul you as surely as a tiger would maul its tamer.”

He chuckled. He was laughing at you. “I would like to see you try, kitten.”

You snarled for effect as you sat up. You straddled him, and he let you. Your thigh twinged and you shifted to take some of the pressure off. You trailed your hands up his arms and wrapped them around his neck. He tilted his head so you could have a better grip. You used your bodyweight to push him backwards. He lied back on the bed and you squeezed around his neck. His hands went to your hips and he positioned them against his.

Your grip tightened again, and your hands vibrated from the force of his growl. He pushed his hips against yours, rubbing, and your hips responded in kind. You swallowed hard. Bane showed nothing that might indicate you were hurting him. You watched him take full breaths no matter how hard you tried to cut off his airflow.

Superhuman. You finally had the proof to realize he was something more. You had to admit no mortal creature could look like that. “Distracted so easily?” he questioned as your fingers relaxed their grip. You were about to say something snippy back, but he rutted against you and you had to bite back a moan.

You felt his cock harden under you and whined. You needed more, but all this was doing was proving how weak you were. Weak and tired. You slouched but continued to grind against him in a vain attempt at a pleasure you would not achieve. You were crying. Why the fuck were you crying?

Bane gathered you against him and held you. “Its alright, kitten. We can try again another time,” he soothed and hushed you. His hands rubbed over your back and you went limp against him. He started to say something else, but you were already half asleep and unwilling to wake up enough to listen.

You woke up in a similar position to how you fell asleep. Bane had moved so he wasn’t hanging off the bed, but you were still holding on to each other. He was speaking quietly in Spanish. The words fell from his lips like a poem, but it wasn’t one you recognized. You waited until he was finished to move.

“Can I have a proper shower today?” you asked, tilting your head up to look at him.

Bane nodded and helped you sit up. He got off the bed and maneuvered you to stand. He helped you to the bathroom and made sure you were able to support yourself once you were in the shower. He stood with his back to you as you took off your clothes and started the water. You inhaled sharply at the cold but overall, you were too pleased to be upset about your shit water heater.

Soap. Your skin felt the effects of soap for the first time in far too long. You spent extra time making sure you scrubbed your skin bare. By the end of it your bullet wound was throbbing. You shut the water off and held yourself up heavily by your arms. There was no way you could move to grab the towel, let alone dry yourself off. You stood in the shower and warred with yourself. In the end, you gave in. “Bane?”

He was supporting you in an instant. His hands were careful where he touched you as he dried you off with one hand and kept you upright with the other. “What do you want to do today?” he asked. He led you into your bedroom and rifled through your clothes for something to give you to wear.

“Nap?” you asked hesitantly. Bane turned to you, after you dressed, and helped you lie down in bed. You fell asleep carelessly with your hair still wrapped in a towel and Bane let you.

It had been a month since the League shot you. The doctor had cleared you to use your leg, but Bane still insisted on keeping you in your apartment and taking care of you. At least you were able to carry most of your own weight now. You bathed on your own and made meals as often as he did and cleaned when you felt you needed to.

“You must have better things to do,” you complained as he sat next to you for your daily shitty television time. You were restless by the first day, you couldn’t imagine how Bane felt.

“Better than making sure you’re taken care of? I don’t think so.”

“That’s ridiculous.” You were exasperated. “That’s the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever said.”

Bane was suddenly serious. He turned his attention fully toward you. “You do not think you are deserving of care?” He forced you to face him. You looked at him for a heartbeat before averting your eyes anywhere else. 

“Not like this. I’m fine Bane. I’m sure the League would rather I worked for them. I’m sure they’d rather you worked for them.”

Ever since that first night you let him sleep in your bed, he’d become more physical with you. More physical than just helping you around the house. “Come here.” He beckoned you to his lap and you moved to sit on him. “You think I want to go around roughing up the corrupt when I could dote on you instead, kitten?”

“Yes.” What kind of question was that? Of course, you thought he’d rather be out and about and menacing than cooped up with you.

“Fine.” His voice rumbled from his chest. “Come back to the League with me.”

“What?” You looked up at him.

“You’re right. They do want us to get back to work. Come back with me.”

You agreed but you both knew you didn’t know what you were agreeing to. Bane helped you pack some of your things and you left for the League hideout that night. You were putting your things away when you caught a conversation. Bane had his mask back on and his voice carried with the effort he had to use to speak with it.

You paused what you were doing to lean closer to the door. “You were supposed to make her complaint, not fall in love with her!” Talia was hissing and failing to keep her volume low enough to avoid eavesdroppers. 

“She is mine, Talia. She will do what I ask.” Bane’s voice was dangerous. It was not a tone he’d ever taken with you, even when you had been a pain in his ass. The sound of it sent chills down your spine. 

Wait.

He loved you? Why would Talia accuse him of that? You were too late to break yourself of your thoughts and Bane was back in the room again. He stared at you, unimpressed, and you busied yourself with unpacking again.

“What did you hear?” he asked, coming closer.

“Nothing.”

Wrong answer. Bane placed gentle hands on you and twisted you to face him. His expression was hard, mistrusting, and you reached a hand up to caress his face. You smiled sadly at him. “I never got to kiss you.”

Bane looked over his shoulder to make sure the door was closed. It was, and locked, because that’s what he always did. Then he turned back to you and carefully took his mask off. He set it aside and leaned down so you could reach him. You pressed your lips to his, testing. He moved against you, pulled you closer, but refrained from kissing you silly. 

You tasted each other for a time before he pulled away. “She wasn’t lying, you know.”

You made a noise in question.

“I do love you.”

Your inner turmoil had to have been showing through. “How?” And the question sounded worse than you meant it.

“Who made you like this, kitten?” He asked and drug you over to sit on the bed with him.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” You struggled to find the right words. “You and I are not meant to fall in love with each other. I am not meant to be here.”

Bane frowned. His body stiffened and you were wary of him. “Where would you rather be?”

“At home. I’d rather be with my family and friends. I’d rather be safe.”

“Nowhere is safer than here.” He stood and began to pace. It was unsettling how much he looked like a caged animal. “The League will create a better world. You will be a part of that.” He was lecturing you. 

You shook you head and scoffed. “I don’t care what the League wants!” After all this time he still thought he could sway your belief.

“How can you continue to be apathetic about corruption?” he growled and turned on you.

“I’m not! I just don’t think a nuclear bomb is the answer to every problem.” You were shouting now and standing. 

That was not the right thing to say. Bane’s hand snapped out and caught you around the neck. Your hands tried to pry him off, but he didn’t budge. “Where did you get that idea?” His voice was low, just on the edge of threatening, but he still didn’t speak to you as he had with Talia. 

You swallowed and your fingers became soothing against his wrist and forearm. “I’m not a complete moron,” you defended. “I know what the League wants from me and I know what its leading to.”

His grip tightened and your eyes grew wide. You resumed your struggle against him as you fought for air. Was he? He had never hurt you before. You knew he was capable of it, but after a month you had begun to think it was a boundary he would not cross. “Talia will kill you when this is over.”

Bane released you and you scrambled away from him. Over the bed to the far side of the room. “I half expect she’ll kill you too.” You glared at him.

“It is an honor to die for the cause.”

You shook your head but you had nowhere to run. No one else in the League would protect you. At this point you had strong doubts about Bane. You weren’t escaping again. “It was a mistake to come here.” You fled the room before Bane could do anything more.

The first person from the League to see you stopped you. It was as you expected, and they offered to escort you to your workstation. You followed them through the building and down into the basement. This workstation was identical to your last down to the smallest detail. Every paper and writing utensil was as you left it but you were in a new building. 

The League member let you be, but you heard them take up a position outside the door. You rolled your eyes. Whatever. If that was how they wanted to waste their time. You worked as you were used to. Music blasted obscenely loud and you spent more time catching yourself up on where you were with the project than necessary. You knew exactly where you were and what you were doing.

No one bothered you for hours. Eventually you had to start taking notes and planning ahead. Always planning ahead. You had folders filled with projections. “If, then” statements taken to the extremes of essays. Technically that was what the League wanted. Most of the League assumed you were metahuman because your writings bordered on prophetic. You just never applied it exactly how they wanted.

Your music switched off and it stopped your workflow. You set down what you were doing and turned to shout at whoever was interrupting you. Bane. You glared at him, but he wasn’t looking at you. He was studying the white boards and cork boards covered in data and your notes. “How’s your leg?”

“You look silly with that mask on.” Bane let out a heavy breath and finally looked at you. “My leg is fine,” you said to his disapproving look, “anything I can help you find?”

“Its one in the morning.”

“So?”

He walked toward you and you shrunk back as he entered your space. “So, it is time for bed.”

You sighed. Now that you were distracted from working you could feel your fatigue rising and with it the headache you’d been neglecting. You rubbed your face and became aware of the throb of bruises around your neck. Bane shifted, uncomfortable, as you stretched your neck. Good.

“Fine, Bane,” you conceded with only a bit of venom in your tone, “take me to bed.”

Bane rumbled something you couldn’t decipher and bent down to pick you up. You wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck. He nuzzled the mouth of his mask to your shoulder as he walked you back to his room. You made it to his room, door closed and locked behind you, and he still didn’t put you down.

You took his mask off for him and set it down on a dresser. You looked at him, at the Bane you knew, and kissed him. He returned your kiss readily and you understood his apology in it. He pulled back to look at you for a heartbeat. “I do not want you to be a fanatic.”

“Good,” you growled and pulled him in to kiss him before he could say anything else. He moved and dropped you on the bed. You looked up at him, breathless, and pulled your lip between your teeth when he began to undress.

You couldn’t decide if he was as or more imposing naked. His underwear was the last thing to go and you quickly discovered he was more imposing this way. Suddenly you were not sure this was a good idea. “We do not have to do anything, kitten,” he assured you and pulled your attention back to his face.

He looked so damn smug. You wanted to hit him. He leaned over you and the bed shifted as he settled his weight on it. You cradled his face in your hands and brought him down to kiss you again. He didn’t spend long at your lips. His mouth was eager to explore your jaw and further down your neck. You forced him to pause as you lifted your shirt over your head.

His hands grasped at your hips as he tasted his way across your collarbone. You moved your hands behind your back to unclasp your bra and he grabbed your wrists in his once your bra was discarded to the floor. He stretched your arms out above your head and turned his attention to your breasts. He nipped his way over them. The attention made your back arch and your breathing become shallow.

“Please.” You whimpered and your arms relaxed in his grip. He let you go in favor of taking your pants off.

“You don’t have to beg, kitten,” he assured you. He kept a hand on your hip to hold you still. His other hand descended to your sex. He pressed his fingers into the soft flesh of your cunt, and you gasped. He pressed gentle circles to your clit.

“Fuck. Bane.” He ripped your underwear off, and you yelped. Bane was watching you closely. He wanted to push you, but he didn’t want to push too hard. You had been keeping your arms where he left them but opted instead to cradle his face and pull him into a soft kiss. “More, Bane, please more.” You requested against his lips.

“I will not hurt you again,” he promised. Your eyes met and you witnessed the love he claimed to have for you. Bane kissed his way down your body until his face was between your thighs. His hands rested against your hips. He looked up at you and you reached down to rub your fingers against his bare head. 

He placed an open-mouthed kiss to your clit before sucking it between his lips. You screamed and your back arched simultaneously trying to get closer and away. He held onto you, forcing you in place, but he waited until your breathing normalized before he continued. He worked you over with his tongue and your orgasm hit you in no time. Your thighs shook as he still did not let you up.

Bane pushed you through your pleasure until he was certain he eked out the last of it. You collapsed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. His fingers pressed at your entrance and as he pushed in a strangled noise escaped you. You moaned as he brushed against the most sensitive spots inside you. 

Sensation lit your nerves on fire and with only a few thrusts of his fingers you were ramped up in arousal once more. He was stretching you, preparing you. You grasped at him. He obliged you and moved so he could kiss you. You melted into his embrace and his fingers withdrew.

The next moment his cockhead was pressed against you. He stroked himself along the soaked folds of your pussy before he tried to enter you. He was controlled. His face buried in the crook of your neck as he took his time. He was thick, easily thicker than anything or anyone you’d had before. You breathed heavily as he pushed in and your fingers caressed across his skin in an attempt to distract you from his intensity.

He settled his hips against yours and your walls clenched around him. Your hips twisted of their own accord, but he didn’t move. He let you writhe under him as you grew used to the feel of him. His lips began to explore your skin again as you tested your range of motion against him.

Eventually you felt comfortable with him in you and the shallow thrusts you could produce underneath him. “Okay,” you breathed against his skin. “Okay.” Your hands splayed across his shoulders and you held him to you. He shifted his hips and pulled out so, so slowly. 

He fucked you like that. Slow and steady and aware of you. The noises you made mingled with his and you were lost to each other as he gained a rhythm and learned what made you shudder and claw at him. His arms wrapped around your back and he shifted his leverage. His pace didn’t change, and it seemed the change in position was to help him hold back.

Your arousal built to an orgasm and he whispered soft encouragements in your ear when he felt you get close. You placed kisses over his bare skin and a particularly sharp movement tipped you over the edge. Your orgasm rippled through you and his thrusts became shallow. He grunted against your skin, his breathing hitched, and he pulled out of you to spill himself against your stomach.

He pulled you into a sweet kiss then he was off you and walking to the bathroom. You felt boneless on the mattress. You were almost lamenting the fact that Bane left you, but he was back soon enough. He had a washcloth in hand and used it to clean you up. He tossed the washcloth to the hamper and lied next to you.

You moved so you could get under the blankets. “How do you feel?” he asked, following you under.

“Satisfied.” You turned your head to look at him. 

“You must finish this work for the League.”

“Why? You said it yourself. They’ll kill me when I am no longer useful.”

“I will not allow it,” Bane insisted. “When you are finished, I will ensure you return to your old life.”

You looked at him with reproach. “Not without you.” You owed him that much. You owed him a death unrelated to the League’s manipulations. 

“Talia will never grant me freedom.” He spoke almost sadly. Regret settled clearly on his face and you reached out for him. You held him and your mind raced. You would find his freedom. You would leave together and you would dismantle the League in its entirety if that was what it took.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos greatly appreciated <3 .


End file.
